Setting Expectations

In the past few days I've had an unbelievable amount of traffic to this blog!  (Would a certain giveaway have anything to do with that???  That's OK, we all like free stuff!)  I honestly did not expect it to snowball like this!  With that in mind, I'd like to set a few expectations...just so that you aren't disappointed!

[For more information about what you can expect to see here, please read this and this.]

First:  I'll do my best to continue posting great recipes, but I have to say, I'm a little intimidated by the list of REALLY GOOD COOKS who have signed up as followers and/or email subscribers, or liked this page on Facebook! I look at your names, and I think that I should be following YOUR cooking blog, not the other way around! But ya'll jumped on the bandwagon with me, so don't worry, I won't drop you off after only a few days :)

Second:  Be forewarned that the recipes on this site will not be gourmet. Well, OK. Maybe a few of them will be. Once in awhile. But only when the ingredients for those gourmet recipes are on sale!  I have a pretty wide range of favorites when it comes to cooking and baking, so I might post recipes for burgers, cheesecake, granola, Italian food, chicken casseroles, seafood, Chinese food, oatmeal, pizza, wraps, salads, Mexican food, bread, cookies...you get the idea!  I may throw a few "your kids won't like this" recipes in here, but the vast majority of recipes found here will be family-friendly and (hopefully) cheap.  You know, normal West Michigan food, with a few twists thrown in here and there.   

Third:  You should also know that sometimes I cook from scratch, and sometimes I use convenience items for a "semi-homemade" result.  Thus the "non-gourmet" disclaimer!

Fourth:  No one in our household has a food allergy, so I don't have any recipes that are specifically peanut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, or anything like that.  If I post one that you notice IS free of one or more common allergens, you are welcome to post that information in the comments.

Fifth:  My "schedule" for updating this blog will be as follows:  Each Friday and/or Saturday, you will see a new batch of recipes based on the Meijer sale ad for the following week.  That's about it!  The rest of the week, I may or may not randomly update with kitchen tips, bonus recipes, In My Kitchen, Stock-up Alerts, and Reader's Request. 

Sixth:  Each weekly batch of recipes will include one main dish or entree, and the remainder of the recipes will vary in category.  You might see three entrees, or you might see one entree, a dessert, and two salads.

Seventh:  I'm not perfect, and neither are my cooking/baking skills.  I regularly try new recipes, but they don't always turn out so great.  I also regularly mess up on tried-and-true recipes.  I'll try to "keep it real" here, so if and when I make mistakes, I'll include my mishaps in the "options and tips" section of the recipe.  This will hopefully help you to avoid making the same mistakes, and maybe give you a good laugh :) 

Eighth:  (wow, I didn't think I would have eight things!)  This blog is for you, not for me! This means that:

• I would LOVE to have you comment on any recipe that I post! If you make one of "my" recipes and you loved it, or you changed it up a bit, please drop me a note in the comments. This lets everyone else know that it's not just a recipe that Lisa's family likes, but someone else tried it and liked it as well.
• If you have a question about a recipe, please post your question in the comments. I'll do my best to answer it ASAP, and if it's in the comments, other readers will see and can benefit from the question and answer too.
• If a recipe bombs, please let me know that as well! Maybe I had a huge typo on a measurement, or maybe I just didn't explain the prep clearly enough. I can take another look at the recipe or ask you some questions about how you prepared it. Maybe we can figure out what went wrong, or maybe you just plain didn't care for it. If you're embarrassed to say that you don't like it, then you can even post as "anonymous"...which means that not even the editor (me!) can see who you are.
• If you find a screamin' deal on an ingredient and you'd like me to post a recipe that uses that ingredient, please send me an email!  I'd love to start a "Reader's Request" series.
• If you find a screamin' deal here in town (on anything food-related), and you'd like everyone to know about it, please email me. I'll post the deal if I think it's applicable.
• If you have any ideas about how I can improve this blog, or if there's something you'd like to see more (or less!) of, please shoot me an email (or you can comment under this post).  I'll take your suggestion(s) into consideration.

My blogging email address is dblisamarie{at}gmail.com

My goals here are:

 to have some fun blogging about one of my favorite subjects (FOOD!)

and

to help you balance good food and good finances.

I hope to provide you with some inspiration for your menu plans...and maybe you'll pick up some new favorite recipes along the way!

Happy Cooking!